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Most of you know putting money in an IRA is a great tool for saving for your retirement. But there is a whole other level of strategies and tools you can use beyond the basics that can help you maximize your IRA to its full potential. We will be covering IRA investment strategies, IRA contributions, minimizing your taxes on IRA withdrawals, buying… Read more

While recent market gains have been led by a handful of U.S. based large growth companies, our conviction remains firm that our portfolios are positioned to produce long-term returns with acceptable levels of risk. For starters, while markets move in cycles, the empirical evidence remains quite clear: over time, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks, small companies have outperformed their larger cohorts,… Read more

Designing a portfolio that meets your needs can be a challenge. Not only do you need to select investments to meet your return objectives, but also manage how much risk you take. Also, you need to actually implement those decisions, select the most appropriate products or individual securities in accordance with your asset allocation, and purchase them in the most efficient way… Read more

Are you considering making the switch from an IRA to a Roth IRA? It might be a good idea! The good news is that it is now easier than ever… for the most part. If all of your retirement savings are currently in traditional IRA accounts, you may have questions on how you can change some or all of the funds to… Read more

Diversification is an important strategy for any investor because it can help to reduce systematic risk or the risk of the overall market. We accept that risk by being invested in the market in general, but why take on additional types of risk when they can be reduced? Investment portfolio diversification allows us to reduce non-systematic risk. This does not mean that… Read more

Many established investors are familiar with the advantages of portfolio diversification, although those relatively new to investing may ask themselves, “What is portfolio diversification?” Like many things in life or in finance, portfolio diversification is easier to understand than to implement effectively. Investors often make mistakes that can prove costly and impede their long-term financial goals. You’ll learn from this post several… Read more

﻿ Many investors diligently save a portion of their income over extended periods of time. They also put a significant amount of effort into deciding which investments are appropriate for their needs. They potentially watch programs in the financial media, subscribe to publications, chat with their friends at the water cooler, and maybe even hire the services of a professional at some… Read more

All the investments you hold together make up your portfolio. This can include a variety of asset classes. Two individuals with different investment objectives are likely to have large differences in their portfolio – this isn’t all that surprising. Unexpectedly, people with similar investment objectives often have substantially different portfolios due to differences in style of management and the types of asset… Read more

In our previous blogs we have covered the basics of Social Security, let’s move on to some Social Security and retirement strategies that can help you maximize your benefits. When Should You Start Taking Social Security Benefits? One of the most important decisions that you’ll have to make as a retiree is the choice about when to start taking Social Security benefits.… Read more

Retirement can be an exciting, yet daunting adventure. You have received an income for most of your life and now you will have to live the next 20-30 years without a direct income from employment. And how does Social Security play into the equation? Is Social Security considered income? How is it taxed? Even though the rules may seem confusing, we will… Read more

Currently, there are over 67 million people receiving Social Security benefits.1 Additionally, there are 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every single day for the next 12 years.2 This is going to put some strain on Social Security when it comes to your claiming strategies, but we are going to break down exactly how Social Security works, how it started, and who is… Read more

If you’d like to understand what risk management entails, a good starting point is to define risk itself. Put simply, risk is the possibility of loss. We experience risk in a variety of forms in our everyday lives. We risk losing additional time if we take an alternate route to work. We risk missing out on positive outcomes when we opt not… Read more

We all understand there is risk in the world. Those of us who are investors are also aware that risk exists in our portfolio as well. Put simply, risk is the possibility of loss. When we think of loss as an investor, we often think of the principal value of what we own decreasing in value, but this type of risk (called… Read more

﻿ Why Risk Management is Important Risk Management is a term most frequently associated with large businesses due to its crucial importance for corporations. However, risk management activities are just as vital when it comes to personal finances. By definition, risk management is the process of understanding, analyzing and addressing potential risks to ensure objectives are achieved. Sounds simple enough, but why… Read more